The first real cold front came through Houston on Friday. The weather is crisp and dry, and it got down into the 50s last night! Hard to believe. The Mighty Weather Station has once again proved its usefulness as we try to find out what to wear for our 5:30 AM walk.
The 50s! That is chilly. It is right now about 80, and I am sitting on the front porch typing (WiFi is a great thing) watching folks walk to the Greek Festival down the street. I have a nice glass of Matua Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand (SB from NV, you can’t go wrong) and I am just enjoying the day.
A neighbor, who is an independent oil man, stopped by an hour or so ago to tell me that they will be selling their house and moving to River Oaks. Now, River Oaks is the hoitiest toitiest part of town, where even a fixer upper will command California prices (in total, not per square foot). It seems that literally his well has come in. One of his partners asked his wife if she would have a hard time spending $150,00 a month. And that was wnet natural gas prices were at $6/MCF. Now they are about double that. Yes, I think that he has it made.
This fellow is a real “Bet a Million” type oil man. He told me that a couple of years ago (in one of our many busts) he almost lost his house – the one he lives in now, down the street from me. He had to mortgage it for some deal or another, and it went bust. He narrowly missed having to move out to the suburbs.
So what I would guess is that he will move to River Oaks now, and maybe in a year or two he will be in the same position.
River Oaks has moved from being the province of Oil Men to the province of lawyers and doctors. Their income is a lot more stable, and they don’t bet the farm on the next patient or client. I think that we all lose something that way.
So here’s to the oil men who put their money where their mouth is. I don’t have the guts to do it, and I have only respect and admiration for them.
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